A visitor, in English and Welsh law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution, often a charitable institution set up for the perpetual distribution of the founder's alms and bounty, who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution. Those with such visitors are mainly cathedrals, chapels, schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals.
There is a ceremonial element to the role, and the visitor may also be called upon to give advice where an institution expresses doubt as to its powers under its charter and statutes. However, the most important function of the visitor was within academic institutions, where the visitor had to determine disputes arising between the institution and its members. The right of the visitor, and not the courts, to adjudge on alleged deviations from the statutes of academic colleges was affirmed in the case of Philips v. Bury, 1694, in which the House of Lords overruled a judgement of the Court of King's Bench. Traditionally, the courts have been exempted from any jurisdiction over student complaints. There had been much speculation that this contravened the Human Rights Act 1998. However, the Higher Education Act 2004 transferred the jurisdiction of Visitors over the grievances of students in English and Welsh universities to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
Also in Canada, the Queen's Representative in Ontario, His Honour the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, serves as the visitor to the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. A similar arrangement has the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador serving as the Visitor to Memorial University of Newfoundland. On a slightly higher level, the Governor General of Canada automatically serves as the official visitor of McGill University. The Anglican Bishop of Montreal is visitor to Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec while the Anglican Bishop of Huron is the visitor to Renison University College in Waterloo, Ontario.
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There is a ceremonial element to the role, and the visitor may also be called upon to give advice where an institution expresses doubt as to its powers under its charter and statutes. However, the most important function of the visitor was within academic institutions, where the visitor had to determine disputes arising between the institution and its members. The right of the visitor, and not the courts, to adjudge on alleged deviations from the statutes of academic colleges was affirmed in the case of Philips v. Bury, 1694, in which the House of Lords overruled a judgement of the Court of King's Bench. Traditionally, the courts have been exempted from any jurisdiction over student complaints. There had been much speculation that this contravened the Human Rights Act 1998. However, the Higher Education Act 2004 transferred the jurisdiction of Visitors over the grievances of students in English and Welsh universities to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator. 
